


Storied

by eeveepacini



Category: Degrassi, Degrassi the Next Generation
Genre: Celebrities, F/M, Multi, Summer, Summer Camp, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:22:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27580652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eeveepacini/pseuds/eeveepacini
Summary: Tori stays at Degrassi but is unable to go to Paris. Instead, she finds her place at the Degrassi Day Camp working with Imogen, Adam, Drew & Dallas.
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story that I wrote a few years ago that I'm editing/adapting/adding to. Hope you guys enjoy!

"I can't _believe_ you're going to Paris without me. This is like, a _dream_! You're just gonna make me watch from the sidelines?" Tori complained, placing herself on Tristan's bed, watching him pack his bags for the Paris trip. 

Tristan held up a red and white striped t-shirt and posed a question. "Is this like, _too_ French?" He asked.

"Seriously?" Tori responded, her tone flat and annoyed due to Tristan completely ignoring what she had just said. She didn't want to manipulate Tristan into not going or anything, she just wanted to make him feel really, really bad about it. "You know the quote, Gatsby Garcia said it best... _Paris has the chance to change your life._ _"_

Tristan decidedly packed the red and white striped shirt before returning to his closet to grab more garments to pack. This boy's suitcase was about to be 20 pounds packed with every piece of clothing Tristan owned. "Gatsby said that, but Gatsby didn't even end up _going_ to Paris, _remember_? She got off the plane right before it took off and kissed Roman in the rain outside of the airport. Her life changed by _staying at home._ "

And of course she remembered -- she ran a West Drive fan blog after all. She knew that Gatsby Garcia, her favorite character on The West Drive, didn't go to Paris, but that didn't mean _Tori_ didn't want to go. "I'm going to be all alone in Toronto. Everyone who is anyone is going on that trip. You and Maya are gonna become besties and leave me in the dust." She said, a pout prominent on her face. She knew she was being dramatic, but she was a dramatic person. That was what made her and Tristan so close and compatible.

"You're going to be fine! I like Maya but she's not bestie material. She's _boring_. She likes cellos and...what else? Oh, trying to steal your man. I could never drop you for someone like that. You're my A1 since day 1, Tor. You know that." Tristan laid his reassurance on thick. "A summer in the most magnificent and beautiful city in the world isn't going to change that. Nothing will." 

She sighed and got up from Tristan's bed. "Fine." She said, defeatedly. "But I'm coming with you to the school to see you off. I think my favorite lipgloss is floating around at the bottom of my locker. That color is discontinued." She reached into Tristan's suitcase and picked up a black beret. "You _have_ to wear this today." She said. "I want you to be the _garçon le plus mingon à Degrassi_."

"What does that mean?" Tristan said in response, making Tori even _more_ annoyed that _he_ was the one going to France. Her French wasn't perfect by any means, but Tristan knew even less. She sighed. Resenting your best friend for anything was unhealthy. She valued her friendship with Tristan, so she was going to let it go. No matter how much it bothered her that Tristan was about to have the best summer of his life without her in a city where he barely spoke the language.

The two walked to Degrassi from Tristan's house, which seemed like a good idea at first, since Tristan's parents weren't home and Owen had refused to give them a ride, but after two blocks of lugging Tristan's ridiculous bags, they were regretting everything. Tristan lived about seven blocks from the school, which, without Tristan's entire closet on their backs or weighing on their shoulders, was a nice light walk. With the bags, though, it was hell on earth. By the time they got to the school, Tori felt all gross and sweaty and basically screamed with pleasure when they got into the heavily air conditioned school.

They went to Tori's locker first, but didn't find any lipgloss. That was probably because Tori knew there was no lipgloss there. That tube was safely in her purse. But she wanted an excuse to scope out the Tristan-Maya situation and make sure that she had no reason to feel threatened.

"Guys! Hey!" Maya ran up to Tristan and Maya. "Tori, are you coming?" She eyed the four bags that Tristan and Tori were carrying. Maya's excitement seemed genuine, and Tori really wanted to not be jealous or mad. Tristan could have two besties, right? Tori repeated that in her head over and over, trying to convince herself, but the insecurities were bubbling to the surface.

"No." Tori replied simply, her tone not as kind as it could be. "Tris is abandoning me." She said in a more joking tone, trying to save herself and not let Maya see that she was bothered.

They dropped off the bags and began wandering around the halls. "It's so weird to see the school so empty." Tristan remarked. It was true. There were a few people wandering around as well, other people who were going on the Paris trip as well as people who were working at the Degrassi Summer Camp, but compared to a normal school day, the school was a ghost town.

"Who is _that_?" Tristan said, poking Tori's ribs and causing her to jump out of her skin. She followed his finger and on the other side was a ridiculously cute boy. They kept walking, approaching the boy, when suddenly Maya tripped into a poster board and stole all of the attention away. Her _damn_ clumsy charm. The boy was now smiling and making eyes at Maya, which clearly disappointed Tristan. "No boys." Tristan decidedly said, though Tori knew that if the boy was making eyes at _Tristan_ , that rule wouldn't exist in a million years. She understood why Tristan was a bit of a hypocrite about these things. Tori and Maya had a lot more of a chance at finding a boy than Tristan did. It was unfortunate, but true. There weren't nearly enough options in Toronto.

They left the cute boy behind and Tori wondered if he was going on the school trip. She'd never seen him around Degrassi. She would've noticed a boy like that.

Tori snuck into the French room and sat with Tristan and Maya while they were instructed on the rules for the bus and the airport. There was nothing Tori wanted in life more than to go on this Paris trip. It felt _so_ unfair. She started to tune out the teacher, now just sitting and feeling bad for herself because she wasn't able to go on this once-in-a-lifetime trip. However, she was snapped back to reality like nobody's business when a very familiar and famous face arrived.

Zoe. Freaking. Rivas -- also known as _Gatsby Garcia_. She and Tristan looked at one another with wide eyes, both holding back screams. Gatsby was their favorite character, and Zoe was their favorite actress on earth. What the hell was she doing here? If Tristan hadn't acknowledged it too, she would've thought she was having heat stroke from the walk over to Degrassi and was just imagining her favorite _West Drive_ actress walking into the classroom.

"Bonjour, Bitches." Zoe said, and Tori almost died.

"I swear, if she's going on this trip, I'm going to kill my-" Tristan started, but paused when he realized how incredibly insensitive it was to mention suicide so carelessly after Campbell's death, especially in front of Maya. "I'm gonna kill my dog." He tried to save, but Tristan didn't have a dog. And him killing an innocent animal didn't really sound that much better.

"Miss Santamaria?" Madame Jean-Aux noticed Tori's presence at the worst time, when Zoe was approaching the three of them. "I don't have you on my list. You're not going on this trip, are you?"

She looked at Zoe, who was now looking at her with a smile pasted on her face. _Zoe Rivas_ was smiling at _her_. "Not officially, but... can't someone like, fold me up and sneak me onto the plane in their luggage? I'm really flexible..." She trailed off, knowing she was about to be kicked out.

Madame Jean-Aux gave Tori a look.

Tori sighed. "I know." She said. "But can I just... get a picture with Zoe Rivas, also known as _Gatsby Garcia_?" Her volume increased with excitement, which caused Zoe to smile at her. Zoe. Smiled at _her_.

"You're cute," Zoe said, pulling Tori in and giving her a side-hug. "Let's selfie it up!" Zoe said, holding her hand out for Tori to hand her her phone, which she promptly handed over. Totally star-struck, Tori smiled like a fool through a series of about fifteen photos. "There's gotta be a profile pic in there somewhere, I'm sure of it." Zoe said, before stealing the seat that Tori was sitting in and crossing her legs.

Madame Jean-Aux looked at Tori once again. "Time to go, Tori. This is a meeting for people leaving for the Paris trip tomorrow. And you, mon cher, are not."

The last thing Tori wanted to do on earth was leave this room. Especially now that Zoe had entered the picture. If Maya was a threat, Zoe was like... A Sharknado. There was zero chance that Tori and Tristan's friendship would ever be the same if Tristan's favorite actress on earth decided to befriend him. Tori officially felt like chopped liver.

"Love you, Tor!" Tristan exclaimed as Tori left the room. "I'll text you all the time!"

And now, Tori officially felt cut out. Her best friend was going to Paris without her, with Maya and _Gatsby freaking Garcia_. She wandered toward the front entrance of the school slowly, not wanting to leave the school, because the moment she left the school, she accepted her fate. She looked down at her feet as she walked, which was clearly not a good idea, because her lack of looking up lead to her walking straight into another person -- Adam Torres. The boy that she had tried to set Tristan up with forever ago. The boy that she had thought was gay, but had turned out to be trans instead. _Not_ one of her brightest moments.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Tori said, noticing that tears had made their way down her cheeks. She knew that she was feeling sad, but she hadn't even realized that she was crying. "I'm just leaving."

"Wait," Adam replied, placing his hand on Tori's shoulder in the most comforting way. "You're not going on the Paris trip?" He questioned, and Tori shook her head. "You should sign up to volunteer at the day camp we're running. Are you good with kids?"

"I'm CPR certified. I babysit my nieces all the time," Tori replied, not even thinking about what she was saying. Was she offering to work at some day camp all summer? It wasn't exactly what she had planned, but maybe it wouldn't be the worst to keep herself busy...

Adam handed her a sheet of paper. "Well, you should sign up to help. We need all the counselors we can get. Right now it's just me, Drew, Imogen and Dallas."

Their conversation was interrupted by the girl who had tried to stop Romeo and Jules, Becky, who introduced herself by placing a kiss on Adam's cheek. Adam's girlfriend, Tori presumed. Was this girl _seriously_ trying to mark her territory?

"Hey there, handsome!" Becky said. "Who is this?" _Definitely_ marking her territory.

"This is Tori. I think she's gonna volunteer with us. What do you say, Tori?" Adam looked to Tori, who had gotten lost in thought thinking about the fact that Adam was dating someone who had been _so_ homophobic and _probably_ transphobic no more than a year earlier. Adam seemed happy with this girl, but there was something about the bubbly blonde that bugged Tori.

"I'm in," She said. "I'd love to spend the summer with you, Adam." She said, then realized that although she definitely wanted to push Becky's buttons a little, that was a little heavy handed. "You, Drew, Imogen and Dallas." She tried to save herself, but she noticed that Becky was already visibly uncomfortable. This was going to be an interesting summer.

"So, why _aren't_ you going on the Paris trip?" Imogen inquired, sitting dangerously close to Tori as she filled out the appropriate paperwork to become a camp counselor. This was not how Tori imagined her day going, but this was leaps and bounds better than going home and crying into her pillow, so she wasn't going to wallow about it too much.

Tori handed the completed paperwork to Drew Torres, who was distracted on the phone with Clare Edwards, who as Tori had learned in her brief time in the French classroom before she was escorted out, had cancer. Tori had overheard Alli Bhandari talking about it. The prognosis sounded pretty good, but Drew still sounded worried. Tori couldn't even imagine what it'd be like to have cancer. Or to know someone who had cancer. It was the ultimate drama. The ultimate twist in nearly every teen drama she had watched that went past five or six seasons. No matter what, you could almost guarantee that any teen drama, like West Drive, for example, would have a kickass cancer story at least once. And it was always the most tearjerking and heartbreaking. Tori got lost in her own thoughts and was brought back to earth when a screeching voice approached her eardrums.

"You are officially a fellow counselor! _My_ fellow counselor! Wee!" Imogen exclaimed, bringing Tori into a friendly embrace. Way more friendly than Tori thought their pretty non-existent relationship required. "We are gonna have so much fun gabbing. I thought I was just gonna be surrounded by _guys_ all summer. Dallas, Drew, Adam..." Her voice drifted into a dreamy state when Adam's name was mentioned, which caused intrigue in Tori's brain.

"Did someone say my name?" A familiar voice popped up right next to Tori's ear, causing her to jump. Adam. "I was trying to sneak up on you, but when I heard Imogen gossiping about me..."

Imogen reached over and slapped Adam's shoulder. "I was not, Mister!" She said. "I was just expressing to Tori how great it's gonna be to have another gal around. Girl power, right, Tor-tilla?" Imogen extended a hand for a high five, which Tori reluctantly accepted.

"We're working on the nicknames. _Tor-tilla_ , for example, is officially retired." Tori said, looking to Adam, then noticing that Adam's girlfriend, Becky, was approaching behind him. She was tip-toeing, trying to work up a cute hands-over-the-eyes surprise for Adam. Tori kept her lips zipped, but just as Becky was approaching Adam, ready to put her hands over his eyes, Imogen cut in and ruined the moment.

"Hey Becks!" She said. Her tone was weird. Still cheery, but there was an undertone of _something_ there that Tori couldn't quite figure out. At least there'd be a mystery to unfold over the summer: the mystery of Imogen. It wasn't exactly West Drive, and Imogen Moreno wasn't exactly Gatsby Garcia, but it was better than nothing. Now, if only she could have Tristan by her side for commentary.

Becky responded to Imogen's weirdness with as much kindness as she could muster, a half-hearted smile, then a glance to Adam asking to exit the situation, and it was obvious from her body language that something was tense. And Tori was dying to know what. Adam and Becky walked away and found themselves a cozy spot against some lockers and immediately, their tongues were down one another's throats. Tori loved PDA, but this was even a lot of heavy petting for her liking.

Tori took the opportunity of being alone with Imogen to pry. Not pry... Investigate. Okay, that wasn't much better. She wanted to know the deets. Was that so bad?

"What's up with them?" Tori started the conversation, and Imogen absolutely leaped at the opportunity to voice the messy thoughts that seemed to be clouding her brain.

"There's just something not right there. _They're_ not right for each other. She's not right for him." Imogen said, pausing only for a brief second before the next string of words came spewing from her slightly glossy lips. "You were in Romeo & Jules. You know all the crap she pulled because she didn't want the school to represent an 'alternative lifestyle'." She put the last two words in over-the-top air quotes, moving her body along with the words, her passion and interest spilling over into what Tori could almost describe as a performance. "And Adam... Adam is transgender. His lifestyle is alternative and it always will be. How does she pick and choose which things to be outraged about? Is she just gonna flip a switch one day and break Adam's heart because she realizes she can't handle the fact that he's different? I mean, he deserves to be with someone who understands what it's like to be different. Someone who gets the confusion and doesn't expect this cookie cutter life."

Tori wanted to burst out, _Someone like you, perhaps?_ But she decided she wasn't going to add fire to the flames. At least not yet. It was obvious that Imogen was totally into Adam, and Tori totally understood that. Adam was really awesome. And Imogen's points really did make sense. Tori never could find it in her heart to fully forgive Becky for the bigotry she showed toward Tristan, especially considering Becky had never even fully apologized to Tristan. Becky attempted to mend fences, especially after making nice with Adam, but things were never really tied off between Tristan and Becky. And that bothered Tori. But clearly, Adam was happy with her, displayed by the face-sucking show they were currently putting on against the lockers.

She tried to think before she spoke, come up with something really good and poignant that would make her sound wise and mature and smart and cool, but Tori's brain could produce was "Well, you have all summer to show Adam how much better his life could be if he saw things your way." Which wasn't the wisest thing to say, but not the most untrue. It felt like she was encouraging Imogen to tempt Adam into cheating on Becky, which she _technically_ was, but... She couldn't justify this one, honestly. Whatever Imogen did next was probably going to be Tori's fault.

"Quick, change the subject!" Imogen exclaimed, and Tori didn't scramble for a second.

One of the benefits of being a pageant girl is seldom getting caught off guard. Tori spent so much of her childhood being coached on how to never let a question cause her to stall or leave an uncomfortable silence, so she knew a thing or two about coming up with something to say on the fly.

"You're right, Imogen, we should totally see if Adam is available to hang out with us tonight." Tori said, locking eyes with Adam as he approached. "Oh, hey, Adam! We were just discussing how we should definitely find something fun to do tonight."

She looked to Imogen, who was delighted at the idea of going out with Adam and Tori. Tori knew she would be. Even when Tori wasn't trying to scheme, a scheme still somehow weaseled its way in. Whoops, Tori thought. If Imogen really believed in her cause, getting Adam to realize he deserved better - or at least _different_ \- than Becky, Tori wasn't going to stand in the way. In fact, she might hold the door open.

"I think that'd be fun." Adam replied, which elicited a gleeful noise from Imogen. Tori found it so funny how little Imogen cared about being seen as _weird_. She was who she was, and the fact that she didn't apologize was kind of inspiring. Tori had been conditioned for years to always look her best and be her best, so it was hard to imagine herself letting her hair down and being a bit of a weirdo like Imogen. But maybe, she thought, that side of her could come out this summer. It was definitely something she wasn't opposed to exploring. "Can Becky come?" Adam asked, taking both Tori and Imogen by surprise. The two girls hadn't seen Becky around and had just sort of assumed she had left, but here she was, walking back into the conversation from the bathroom.

"Come where?" Becky said in a voice that was a little too chipper. Tori knew fake, and this was fake. Becky definitely smelled something she didn't like on Imogen and she was on high alert.

Imogen scrambled to respond, and when she did, her voice was smooth like butter. She was playing it cool. An interesting angle that Tori didn't quite expect. "We were thinking about going and seeing Fefe Dobson, I bought tickets for Fions and I like a year ago before we knew that she'd be off to Rome. We had talked about double dating with Holly J and Declan, which...clearly can't happen, since Fiona is halfway across the world and Holly J and Declan are spending the whole summer exploring Australia together..."

Everyone in the conversation had gone silent, confused on how to respond when Imogen had gone into such a ramble.

"I have four tickets to a show tonight. Would you guys like to go for free?" Imogen spoke much more clearly and everyone responded positively. Confusion averted. Everything was okay. As okay as anything could be when there was a budding rivalry between Becky and Imogen and a probably one-sided love triangle on the horizon?

"This is gonna be great!" Tori encouraged the group, who were all still pretty tense. Even Adam had clearly noticed the vibe, and being the good hearted guy he was, seemed to really be trying to figure out the best way to make everyone happy and comfortable. Tori admittedly got what Imogen saw in him, and kind of felt her heart fluttering for him too. She shook it off, though. Adam had a girlfriend. She wasn't putting her hat in the ring. In fact, she didn't even have a hat to put in the ring.

Becky and Adam exited the conversation, promising to meet outside the venue at 8:00. Once they were out of earshot, Imogen immediately turned to Tori with a total crisis-face. "I don't know why I did that." She said. "I don't know why I just invited Becky to go to this awesome show, I don't want her there." She admitted, apparently just dropping any facade that she liked Becky.

"This will be good. Make nice with Becky, get to know their relationship instead of just assuming she's bad, and if there's dirt... You'll be on the inside, and you'll know." Tori started, then realized she sounded a bit manipulative, and like she was encouraging a scheme, which she was, but she tried to redirect. "It'll help you protect Adam better to know exactly what he's dealing with. Make sure there's something to worry about, you know?"

Imogen nodded and wrapped Tori in yet another intimate embrace. "You know, I think you and I are gonna be friends, Tori Santamaria." Imogen said, poking her finger on the tip of Tori's nose and making a buzzing sound. "So, meet you at the venue at 7:45? We can chat and strategize... _Chategize_ for a bit before Adam and Becky show up." Imogen giggled at her own word invention, which made Tori smile just a little bit.

"Why don't we get ready together? Could we do it at your place?" Tori asked, and Imogen shook her head quickly, insisting that wherever she lived was not an option for getting ready. "Or mine?" Tori added as a suggestion, which made Imogen clearly much more comfortable.

"Can we go now? I've seen you around school and you wear some of the cutest stuff. I'm dying to raid your closet, what size are your shoes? Seven?" Imogen began rambling, following Tori as she walked through the hall. Man, this girl was high energy.

But Tori was a bit distracted because she looked at the clock on her phone screen and realized that the meeting for the Paris trip was ending in a few minutes, which meant that the students in that classroom would soon be flooding the halls, which meant... Zoe Rivas was soon going to be in her presence again. The drama with Imogen and Adam and Becky had been a nice little distraction, like a commercial break, but she wanted so badly to focus on the real show again. She wanted to know more about what was going on between Tristan and Zoe and Maya and that cute guy that they came across in the hall and whoever else was being thrown into the mix. After the curveball with Zoe showing up out of nowhere, Tori wouldn't be surprised if Brad Pitt came waltzing out of that room carrying Maya on his shoulders. Everything was wacky today, after all.

She was brought back to earth with a tap on her shoulder from Imogen, though, and she forced a response. "Uh, can we in a minute? I just want to... ask my friend Tristan something. And he's in the Paris meeting."

Imogen nodded, agreeing to wait, but the expression on her face read as bored.

"I'm sorry, what do you want to talk about while we wait? There's five minutes until the meeting is supposed to let out, that's five minutes of my undivided attention you've got." Tori said, which made Imogen smile.

"Are you still with Zig?" Imogen asked, which felt out of the blue and a bit inappropriate. If not inappropriate, just plain shocking. But Tori swallowed her shock. There was no need to make a thing out of this.

"I'm not." Tori said, simply.

And it was true. She and Zig were officially done. And for the first time since she got caught up in Zig's web of lies, it felt like she was telling the truth. She put up with so much crap from Zig. From him treating her like a doormat to him emotionally cheating on her and physically cheating on her with Maya... She was done. Her heart still ached when she thought about him, and she still had memories in her head that she needed to convince herself to introduce truth into, though she knew that if she did those memories would be soured and ruined... She wasn't fully over him, but she was done with him.

"So who do you have your eye on now?" Imogen asked.

"Honestly, nobody." Tori responded. Other than the tiny crush she now had on Adam, no other guys had really stood out to her yet. There was that one cute guy that she had seen for about thirty seconds in the hall earlier, but again, that didn't really count as a prospective. "Maybe you can help me find a cutie this summer." Tori joked. She wouldn't mind another guy in her life, but she also wouldn't mind a break from all of the drama. And at this point, she wasn't sure if the drama was a thing with every couple or if it was just a side effect of dealing with Zig Novak, but every experience she'd had so far with high school relationships, including observing people around her... Things never tended to end well. And sometimes, they even ended the way they did with Maya and Cam, which had now become a fear for Tori. The thought of loving someone and then losing them horrified her. She didn't know if that was ever something she could come back from.

"We're totally gonna find you a cute guy. Maybe even tonight!" Imogen exclaimed.

The two girls continued their conversations about past crushes and future crushes and the things they liked in a potential suitor for several minutes, Tori even got lost in the conversation and forgot for a moment that she was about to come face to face with her favorite actress, who so easily could steal her best friend, and probably already had. It wasn't until she started to hear shuffling down the hall that she realized the Paris meeting had let out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tori meets Zoe Rivas for the first time.

The Paris meeting let out and Tristan busted through the door before anyone else could even begin to gather their things and head toward the door. There was zero doubt in Tori's mind that her best friend had some fabulous news that he couldn't wait another minute to share. Tris always had a flair for the dramatic, after all.

"You. Me. Zoe  _ freaking _ Rivas! That Summer Concert thing. Tonight!" He practically shouted in Tori's face.

An official invite to hang with Zoe Rivas? Tori's excitement level almost skyrocketed to the level Tristan was displaying. This was her dream come true. After all of that belly-aching worry she had let build up since the moment she saw Zoe walk into the Paris meeting, after the assumption she shouldn't have made about her best friend ditching her… She should have known that Tristan wouldn't just let her down or ditch her like that. 

Suddenly, she was so sure that everything was going to be fine. If there weren't so many details to sort out she'd start dancing and singing down the hall like she was in her very own musical. And as sure as she knew her own name, she knew Tristan would play along with something like that without hesitation.

"I can't believe it! You're the best! This is the best! I love you!" Tori brought her best friend into the tightest embrace and almost lifted her noticeably thinner best friend. For a moment she wondered how he melted all of the baby fat he had off so easily, but this was not a time for diet tips or eating disorder concerns. Those things could be gabbed about later. Like, maybe at the  _ crazy cool _ concert she was going to later tonight with her best friend and her favorite actress.

Tori and Tristan's embrace broke just in time for Maya Matlin to exit the classroom, sporting a sour face. "Zoe is still in there signing autographs and taking pics with everyone." She spoke, clearly agitated. 

Turns out Maya didn't really like someone swooping in and taking the attention away from someone close to her…  _ Interesting _ , Tori thought. She tried not to be bitter about the whole cheating situation. After all, Maya had been through enough with Cam and all. She didn't need Tori causing more trouble. They had agreed to be friends and that was that. 

"Zoe said she needs a new outfit for tonight and she wants my advice so we're going shopping. Get this!” He continued venting to Tori, not really acknowledging Maya. “She said she  _ loves _ our videos! The whole cast watches them, and she LOVES our fashion segment. Zoe said that she actually shared my suggestions for Gatsby's wardrobe in the last season with the person who handles Gatsby's wardrobe and they  _ listened _ !”

Tori squee’d in response. This was like  _ front page  _ news to anyone who kept up with the West Drive Experience. 

Tristan continued. “I  _ seriously _ almost fainted when she said that.  _ I, Tristan Milligan,  _ had an influence on what Gatsby wore!” 

“That sexy red prom dress she wore on the season finale when she found out that her half brother was dating her ex boyfriend was probably picked out because of my suggestion that Gatsby needed to start dressing more maturely to reflect how she's grown — you know, since she was catfished by her teacher!" Tori responded excitedly, recalling her in-depth evaluation of the character’s prom dress. 

"Spoilers much?!" A voice that belonged to a presence Tori had honestly sort of forgotten about in all of the excitement cut through.  _ Imogen _ . The older girl had now decided to stick her fingers in her ears and hum to tune out what Tristan and Tori were saying. Apparently she was  _ not _ caught up on West Drive.

"Are you guys… hanging out?" Tristan's tone was a little bitchy.

Imogen took her fingers out of her ears and held her hand to her forehead like a salute. "Imogen Moreno, co-counselor at Degrassi Day Camp at your service!"

Tristan was still very confused, clearly. "Co-counselor to who? What's happening?"

"To me,” Tori reluctantly admitted. Next to all of Tristan's bragging about Zoe, being a counselor at a day camp at their high school sounded so…  _ local _ .

"Why?" Tristan spoke bluntly once again. "I mean, nice to see you again Imogen!” He turned to address Imogen, then got back to Tori. “What made you make this decision, Tori?" Tori could hear it in Tristan's voice. He had something to  _ say _ about this that he couldn't say in front of Imogen. 

Had the short amount of time in a room with Zoe Rivas changed Tristan from medium diva to ultimate diva? Zoe’s effects couldn't be  _ that _ strong and instant, could they? Maybe it was called 'star struck' for a reason...

"I dunno, nothing else to do this summer. I get to hang out with Imogen and Drew and Adam and Dallas. Seemed like a pretty cool crew to surround myself with." Tori pulled Imogen close to her and gave the girl a quick side hug.

This attempt at making herself appear fully confident and happy in this decision had fooled Imogen, since a wide grin had taken over Imogen's features as Tori gave her attention and a little affection.

“Oooh, wee! We are going to be best friends!” Imogen responded. 

Maya chirped in, "Ooh, jealous! I always loved hanging with you and Adam in Whisperhug!" 

This caused Imogen to step away from Tori and bring Maya into an embrace. "Yes, my little Matlin kitten!" Imogen exclaimed. "I wish you could hang with me and Tor-tilla this summer!” 

"Matlin  _ kitten _ ?" Tori questioned the nickname, sort of accidentally out loud.

Imogen's hand petted Maya's slightly frizzy hair like you would pet a kitten. "Yes! Her older sister reminds me of a cat, so Maya's a little kitten!" 

Well, Tori couldn't argue that logic. "Tor-tilla isn't a thing though. Remember? We retired that one." 

"Not officially." Imogen said. It seemed Imogen was still hopeful that Tori would change her mind about this one. Tori shook her head, though. She knew there was a better nickname out there.

"Well, if you wanna trade places I'm happy to take your spot on the Paris trip, Maya…" Tori half-joked. She was trying to extend an olive branch to Maya. Their friendship was still a little fractured at this point. It was going to take more time than this for Maya and Tori to heal from the emotional scars.

Before the conversation could continue, Zoe made another grand entrance, walking out of the classroom like it was a runway. She looked so effortlessly gorgeous with a beanie on top of her head and her tiny ankle boots clicking on the floor. 

"Who's ready to shop till we drop?" Zoe delivered her words almost as lines.  _ Perfectly _ .

"I'm Tori and I love you!" Tori greeted Zoe. It wasn't  _ exactly _ the greeting she had always dreamed of saying when she met her favorite actress, but excitement had just taken over.

"I'm Zoe and I love your hair!" Zoe said, playfully mocking Tori's excited tone and putting her fingers in Tori's curls.

Usually Tori wasn't a fan of people just reaching out and touching her hair, especially since she had been teased throughout her childhood for the bush of curls that had taken over her head before she learned about the magic of hair products and heat tools.

Zoe could do whatever she wanted, though. Tori's idol was  _ touching _ her right now, and she wasn't about to mess it up by complaining. "And please, Tori. I know who you are. I watch your vlogs. The whole cast does! Especially  _ Jonas Daly _ !” Zoe name-dropped one of her fellow cast members casually. 

Even though Tristan had told Tori that Zoe said the whole cast watched the vlogs, hearing it from Zoe's mouth felt like an out of body experience. This was officially the best day ever.

"Wanna go shopping with us? I could totally hook you up with some free clothes. The boutiques around here are always trying to shove freebies in my face. I usually don't accept because you know… I can afford to buy my own clothes. But I could probably get  _ you _ something super cute for tonight.” She gestured to Tori. “I'm envisioning you in something tight, short and gold."

"Gold is one of my best colors, actually." Tori said. "I compete in beauty pageants so I'm super in tune with what looks good on me and what washes me out. My best colors are pink, blue, white and gold. My worst colors are brown and green. Just not an earth tone gal at all." She caught herself rambling. "Sorry, not that you care, I'm just  _ so _ excited!” 

Zoe still had a smile pasted on her face. It seemed Tori wasn't annoying her, even through her mindless rambling. "So is that a yes on shopping?" 

"Yes!" Tori wanted to just grab Zoe and hug her so tight her eyeballs popped out. This was even  _ better _ than a dream come true. Tori couldn't believe she was crying just an hour earlier.

The euphoric fog was cleared up when Tori felt a tap on her shoulder. "I thought we were gonna go to your house to get dressed for tonight." Imogen meekly spoke, and suddenly guilt washed over Tori. 

Now that a better option had presented itself, Tori honestly didn't really  _ want _ to hang out with Imogen anymore. She had the whole summer to spend with Imogen. Zoe and Tristan were leaving for Paris soon. 

Tori had to get in with Zoe good before the trip so that she could retain the friendship when Zoe got back. She knew that Tristan was going to have a huge head start and bond with Zoe more, but as long as Tori had Zoe locked down as a friend, it truly didn't matter. And Tori knew she could make up for it by charming Zoe's pants off… Not  _ literally _ , though...

"Oh, um… do you think there's enough free boutique dresses to spare?" Tori looked to Zoe, trying to convey through her eyes how sorry she was for asking for a random girl to tag along on the most exciting adventure ever. Tori just felt guilty ditching Imogen right in front of her face. 

Zoe's face twisted a little, clearly not wanting to invite Imogen. "Well, I don't really want to get a selfish rep around town. I heard Alicia Silverstone had gossip articles written about her one time because she brought a whole posse into a store and expected the store to just dress the whole posse for free. They called her Alicia Silver _ scammer _ ."

Imogen stepped in trying to save the situation from ultimate awkwardness. "It's fine! I actually should probably go check on my… fish! I'll just meet you at the concert, Tori! Don't forget about me and Adam! Good to see you Maya!" Imogen acknowledged the other odd one out. 

Tori sort of wished Imogen and Maya would go hang out. It was clear that Maya wasn't impressed by Zoe for some  _ jealous _ reason, and at least it'd make Tori feel a little less guilty about ditching Imogen.

It was as if Maya read Tori's mind. As Imogen left the situation and began making her way down the hallway, Maya spoke up. 

"Wait up! I'm just gonna catch a ride with Imogen, if that's okay?" She looked to Imogen who nodded. "Katie's leaving for Stanford soon so I should probably spend time with her while I can. Plus I think I could probably just raid her closet and find something cute to wear."

Tori, Zoe and Tristan all nodded simultaneously. They were already looking like the coolest crew ever. If only they could take this vibe to Paris. They would be unstoppable. Tori, Zoe and Tristan would absolutely rule that city.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tori recognizes Zoe’s motives.

Tori felt completely unstoppable as she strutted down the street with Zoe Rivas and her best friend Tristan. This felt straight out of her dream teen movie. In an attempt to keep looking cool she had to refrain from pinching herself or geeking out, but  _ man, _ she was struggling.

"I figure we start here." Zoe said as she approached the fanciest looking store Tori had ever seen. 

She had always walked past places like this and drooled at the window displays, but she had never had the money to actually go in. Tori's family had  _ some _ money, but they did not have money like  _ this _ . West Drive must  _ really _ pay a ton.

The trio stepped into the boutique and Zoe did a very dramatic inhale and exhale, like she was breathing in the rich, expensive air. She was royalty, Tori swore. Even better in real life than on West Drive. Immediately Tristan's eyes locked onto the gaudiest sparkly pink dress ever. 

Only Tristan could like the  _ cheesiest _ stuff ever. Tori winced, waiting for Zoe's cutting remark. Zoe's style was totally hot, and this dress… it was an eighties nightmare. Totally _not_. 

"Tori! You said pink was one of your best colors, eh?" Zoe grabbed the hanger and pushed it toward Tori's chest. 

Really? Tori wouldn't have thought that this thing would garner enthusiasm from the teen style icon, but she reluctantly grabbed the hanger and held it up.

"Really?" Tori wasn't sure. Her eyes wandered around the rest of the store where she saw some dresses that were definitely more her style. And definitely more… toned down.

"You're not gonna try on the dress your bestie picked out?" Zoe raised her brows teasingly. But not a playful tease. A weird… almost  _ menacing _ tease. 

Tori was sure she was just reading things wrong, though. Zoe's attention was grabbed by a simpler silk navy blue romper. Why couldn't Tori just try something on like  _ that _ ?

Tori furrowed her brows. She wasn't gonna try this on, or wear this, or embarrass herself at the concert. What if paparazzi showed up for Zoe? She didn't wanna be caught dead in this bubblegum nightmare dress in the background of pics that would be all over the blog-o-sphere. 

"I'm gonna have to pass." Tori placed the dress on the rack closest to her and put her hands on a simple white dress with a deep v-neck. Sort of risky, but cute. If she was gonna end up on every blog next to Zoe Rivas, she might as well try to make an impression.

Tristan frowned in response and Zoe rushed to his side and mimicked his pouting face. 

"Aw, come on Tori. How are you gonna call yourself Tristan's best friend if you don't even take his style advice?"

Something about the way Zoe was speaking was throwing Tori off. She had been around a  _ lot _ of fake pageant girls in her time and she knew when someone had ulterior motives. She'd dealt with it for years. Girls would try to get in with Tori, pretend to be her friend and then take whatever they wanted and sharpen their back-stabbing knife before they  _ stabbed.  _ Zoe was giving hardcore negative vibes and it was making Tori a bit uneasy. 

She stepped away from the conversation and focused her attention on another low-cut dress. This one was a velvet-textured dark blue that would probably cling to Tori's curves like nothing else. Definitely more on the risky side — but she liked it. 

"I'm gonna go try  _ this one  _ on." Tori said, and disappeared behind some curtains to try on the two dresses she had picked out. She was already a bit partial to the more dangerous velvet one, but she figured she may as well see how the white one looked.

As Tori pulled her clothes off, she heard a hushed voice talking. Zoe's voice. "She seems like she doesn't really trust your fashion sense. I mean, I've heard her in some of the vlogs, she always disagrees with your style tips. I've even seen her  _ roll her eyes. _ "

That sneaky little… Tori  _ knew _ something was off about Zoe. 

She was extremely conflicted because it had always been a huge dream to befriend someone like Zoe, but even through the fangirl fog, Tori could detect someone who was up to no good. What Zoe was doing right now was trying to steal Tristan from under Tori. Well, that  _ wasn't _ going to happen. 

Tori had been best friends with Tristan for far too long to have some showy snake swipe him away. 

"No, I mean… That dress isn't really appropriate for the event tonight I guess. I just really love the  _ glitter _ ." Tristan responded to Zoe in a not-so-subtle, less hushed tone. He was never great at being subtle. That was what made him Tristan, though. And Tori loved him.

Tori had the first dress, — the white one, slipped over her head and adjusted before Zoe could poison Tristan against Tori further. She stepped out and began twirling around. This dress looked  _ so _ good. There were short lace sleeves, a low cut neckline that showed a scandalous amount of Tori's chest, and a short hemline that met the middle of Tori's thighs. 

What Tori hadn't noticed on the rack was that in direct lighting there was little pieces of glitter in the fabric, which was a touch that Tristan was sure to go gaga for.

"Look!  _ Sparkles _ !" Tori showed off the dress and noticed a slight scowl on Zoe's face — confirming Tori's theory that this girl had a little vendetta against Tori. The scowl on Zoe's face couldn't have been more opposite of the expression of pure joy on Tristan's face.

"Yes! This is  _ so _ perfect!" Tristan exclaimed. It was settled. Even though Tori honestly really wanted to see how she looked in the sleeker more dangerous dress, she wasn't about to give Zoe another reason to gaslight Tristan into thinking Tori was the bad guy.

With the situation concerning Imogen and Adam, and now  _ this… _ Tori's summer had turned from  _ nothing _ to way too much on her plate to handle. This party tonight was going to be the ultimate juggling challenge. But she wasn't about to drop the ball.

…

Things were a little tense in the boutique after Tori had made her power move. Tristan was somehow blind to the weird energy in the air, but Zoe surely wasn't. 

As Tristan's eyes wandered to the other side of the store, distracted by a shiny blazer that he was sure to beg for, Zoe's eyes shot to Tori. Zoe's eyebrow lifted slightly at Tori and her stare was incinerating Tori where she stood. An idea was brewing. Zoe wasn't going to let Tori win so easily. This girl was about to be a  _ big _ undertaking. Luckily, Tori was well trained in the art of putting bitches in their place. 

"Well if you're gonna wear that one…" Zoe walked over to Tori's dressing room and snagged the more risqué dress that Tori had been toying with the idea of toting from the hanger. That piece of fabric was sure to pack a punch and Zoe had figured out the best way to utilize that power. Vengefully. "I'll just wear this one myself. The paps will  _ love _ it."

Tori shook her head slightly when Zoe turned her back. There was no way she was going to let Zoe Rivas know that she was getting under Tori's skin. Tori was about to be the coolest cucumber in the patch until she figured out exactly how she was going to extract this poison from Tristan's life before the plane departed for Paris. 

Zoe disappeared behind the dressing room partition and Tori rushed over to her best friend. She needed to plant the seed in Tristan's head before Queen Bitch came back and charmed him. 

Tori knew there was zero chance she could convince Tristan that Zoe was evil within the time it took for Zoe to put on the sleek dark velvety dress that she was sure to look like she was going to be on the cover of Sizzle Teen. 

The most she could do in this tiny time period was alert Tristan to be on the lookout for sketchy, manipulative behavior. A tiny planted seed in Tristan's brain was better than him having absolutely no idea anything was up.

As Tori approached Tristan in the mens' section of the shop, Tristan's excited voice bellowed through the otherwise empty area. "I feel like Tai in Clueless right now. Zoe is a total Cher Horowitz."

Then, Tristan's face lit up more than Tori thought she'd ever seen it. And that was saying something, because Tori had been the one to show Tristan  _ Lady Gaga _ for the first time. She still recalled the way she watched as he fell in love from the first moment he heard 'Poker Face’.

"Oh my Lady Gaga." Tristan slapped Tori's arm a little too hard. Of course he mentioned Lady Gaga right now. The two besties were totally connected telepathically. Tori had thought it since the first day they met, and every single day since, their bond grew stronger. 

"Zoe mentioned Alicia Silverstone earlier. Alicia Silverstone played Cher in Clueless. What if Zoe is researching for a role… in a new Clueless movie! Wouldn't that be crazy? I feel like I read on Twitter or something that a bunch of people wanted a Clueless remake. What if she's going to make me over and make me cool like Tai to practice for a role?"

Tristan's suggestion was outlandish and very unlikely to be true, but it caused a lightbulb to go off in Tori's head. 

"Yeah, what if she's just  _ using _ you?" 

If it took acting like Tristan's theory about a new Clueless movie had any sort of credence in Tori's brain to plant the seed that Zoe may have ulterior motives, Tori would take whatever opportunity was presented. She didn't want to stand by and watch her best friend be hurt by some vengeful valley girl.

"That would be awesome!" Tristan expressed. "That would mean Zoe saw potential in me. And if you remember, Cher totally made Tai like, super popular."

"I feel like you're missing the point." Tori remarked.

"She's really cool, Tor. Get the stick out of your butt. I would never replace you with Zoe." Tristan brought Tori in for a hug. "Besides, I've always wanted a bestie trio. I was trying to make it work with Maya, but Zoe is just  _ such _ a better fit into our posse. And now I'll have someone to chill with when you're off making out with whichever misguided chump you replace Zigmund with when we get back to school."

Tori opened her mouth to respond, though she wasn't even sure what to say at this point. Before she had a chance to figure out what she was going to say to Tristan, Zoe exited the dressing room looking like a million bucks in the dress Tori had picked out originally. Of  _ course _ . Her chest was a lot smaller than Tori's which meant she looked less  _ suggestive _ than Tori probably would have, since Tori had a lot more curves to fill out the dress, but Zoe's slimmer frame still fit the dress extremely well. 

It seriously looked like Zoe had some shape wear or something under the dress, but there would've been no way she could've slipped something like that on within such a short time frame without help. The only people who could slip on shapewear that could smooth out all of the natural bumps in the human body at such an ungodly speed were beauty queens and models. Zoe was neither of those things, so Tori had to just infer that somehow Zoe just naturally had a body that looked that great, because of  _ course _ she would.

"What do you think?" Zoe said, striking a silly pose in front of Tristan and Tori. "I think there's a blazer that matches this dress in the men's section Tris. You should totally match with me. We'd have boys _begging_ for our numbers."

Tristan disappeared into the mens' section once again, clearly excited by the concept of matching with Zoe.

"Tori, do you like?" Zoe looked at Tori with eyes that almost convinced Tori — almost  _ fooled _ her, into thinking that Zoe was being sincere.

"Yeah, it looks great." Tori looked down at her own dress and then back at Zoe's dress. If they were put next to one another in a magazine, Zoe would definitely be crowned 'best dressed', but that wasn't a battle Tori was about to take on yet. It was definitely one that she was tempted by, since every cell in her body was used to striving to be the best at everything, but for now she was holding back and ignoring those urges in order to focus on the most important thing: being the _best_ _friend_ she could be.

Tristan returned to the girls with the blazer and a pair of pants that matched Zoe's dress perfectly.

"Yes! Put them on now. I'll grab you a shirt to put on and we can just wear them out of the store. I've worked it out with the boutique owner."

Tori couldn't help but wonder how Zoe had worked such a sweet deal out with the boutique owner. Was Zoe paying for all of the clothes or was she cutting some sort of West Drive celebrity deal with the shop? A tiny piece of Tori's brain wandered to the time that Zig had allowed her to unknowingly be an accomplice in dining and dashing, but she was pretty sure that Zoe wasn't doing anything like that. She was way too well known to risk the  _ bad press _ a shoplifting scandal could bring.

"Let's find shoes, shall we? I saw a pair of black loafers that I think would match Tristan's look perfect. Plus, we gotta find something cute for you, right? Since you've chosen to  _ not _ have your dress be the statement piece."

The urge to shoot back at Zoe's backhanded statement almost overtook Tori. This girl was no rookie when it came to hitting people right where it hurts. Tori stayed silent, though. There was no way she was giving in after something as petty as a comment about a dress. Zoe was going to have to try a lot harder if she wanted Tori to crack. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tori helps Maya sneak into the venue with a little bit of help from a new face, Miles.

"I can't believe we're getting the VIP treatment with  _ Zoe Rivas _ !" Tristan squealed, grabbing Tori's shoulders and squeezed tightly as they bypassed the line and headed straight toward the bouncer. "Our lives will  _ never _ be the same, Tor. This is the peak. This is like, our  _ destiny _ !"

"Tristan,  _ chill out _ ," Tori snapped slightly. “It’s cool that we’re skipping the line, but something about Zoe...” she trailed off, grabbing her best friend and holding him back for a moment, hoping to escape Zoe’s earshot. 

“She’s  _ totally awesome _ , right?” Tristan incorrectly finished Tori’s sentence, something he didn’t do often. Usually the two were on the same page. “Come on, she’s talking to the bouncer!” He chirped, wandering away to reattach himself to Zoe. 

Tori sighed. Zoe’s sketchiness didn’t even seem to be on Tristan’s radar. Tori reluctantly followed him, not wanting to be left behind. 

Zoe charmed her way into the venue, taking Tori and Tristan along. As soon as the bouncer began to let them in, a meek voice called from the line. "Umm..  _ Guys _ ?" Maya squeaked. 

Tori had  _ completely _ forgotten about Maya. "A little help getting out of the line?" She asked. Maya, Imogen, Adam, Drew and Dallas were all there, far from the front of the line.

"Sorry, I can't help you guys. If I let  _ all _ of you guys skip the line, what does that say about how I feel about the  _ other _ West Drive fans in line? I can't help  _ everyone _ skip the line. Then they think I don't care about them, which of course…" Zoe paused for dramatic effect and addressed the people standing in line around Maya's crew who, for the most part, looked extremely confused. "I  _ do _ . I love  _ all _ of my fans and supporters, and I'm  _ totally _ available to take selfies outside after the show."

Maya cocked her head to the side, clearly confused by how Zoe had completely taken things off the rail and made things about herself. "So, we're supposed to just stand in line all night?” Maya replied. “Tris… Tori… a little help?” 

Tori tried to find the words to speak up for Maya, but she didn’t really know what to say. She knew that whatever she came up with would be met with an excuse from Zoe. “I…” she stuttered. “Zoe, do you think…?” Tori turned to Zoe, who had already turned around and started making her way into the club. Tristan followed with a shrug, encouraging Tori to come along. 

“A little brush with fame is more important than your  _ friends. Got it _ .” Maya addressed Tori boldly. 

Those words burned Tori. That wasn't what was happening. She  _ hated _ that Maya went straight for the gut like that. Sure, Maya and Tori had difficulties in the past, but Tori didn't expect  _ this _ . Maya must have felt truly betrayed, which made Tori feel even  _ more _ guilty. 

“I’m sorry Maya…” Tori felt her pulse quicken as she began to lose sight of her best friend in the crowd. “But I  _ have _ to stay with Tristan…” 

All Tori wanted in this moment was to rewind time and somehow make it so that Zoe had just never entered the picture. Everything was  _ so _ much less complicated before Hurricane Zoe. 

"I'm  _ so _ sorry!” She turned to follow Zoe and Tristan, looking back once more to see the disappointed looks on Maya and Imogen's faces. These people had put faith into Tori and she had  _ blown it _ — all to try to protect her best friend from their favorite possibly-evil TV star. Tori’s life was sounding more and more like a bad episode of West Drive by the minute. 

By the time Tori caught up to Tristan and Zoe, they had situated themselves at the bar. 

"So, what's the boy situation like around here?” Zoe asked. “Any single cuties I should know about? That tall athletic guy back there with Maya looked pretty interesting." Zoe said, reaching her hand out to signal the bartender.

"Which one? Drew or Dallas?" Tristan asked.

Tristan was totally into this gab session —  _ probably _ because he had a huge crush on Dallas and as Tori knew from experience, Tristan would look for absolutely any reason to talk about how big and sexy Dallas’s arms were. 

"Tall, nice full lips, arms to die for…" Of course Zoe was describing none other than Mike Dallas. Cue the gab session to end all gab sessions.

Tori sort of tuned out as Tristan and Zoe began gushing about the hot hockey captain. 

Sure, he was cute, but he was also partially responsible for Tristan almost missing opening night for Romeo and Jules. What was it with people easily forgiving gross bullies and bigots? Was Tori the only one who had no interest in befriending the vile hockey team or anyone associated with it? Maybe she was just being overprotective, but after the hockey team harassed nearly  _ everyone _ Tori cared about, was she crazy to hold a grudge? 

The bartender approached Zoe and immediately recognized her. Tori knew West Drive was popular, but this bartender was like forty five years old and covered in tattoos. He wasn't exactly the target audience for a teen drama. "Oh man, my daughter has all these posters of you in her room! Zoe Rivas, right? From that show…" The man paused. The way he was speaking, sort of nervous and weird, made Tori wonder if he was just a fan of West Drive and was making up a daughter as an excuse. "West Drive, right?" The way he searched for the words seemed so contrived. It was actually funny. Tori wondered how often Zoe had to deal with adults who were ashamed to like the show. "What can I get for you and your friends, Miss Rivas?”

"Three virgin Cosmopolitans." Zoe ordered with a devious grin climbing onto her features as the words spilled from her mouth. "Extra tip for you if you… you know,  _ devirginize _ them." She reached in the designer bag she had hanging on her arm and grabbed cash, sliding twenty dollars across the bar.

Tori saw right through Zoe's drink order. She had chosen Cosmopolitans as her cocktail of choice because of Carrie Bradshaw on Sex In The City. It was honestly a bit predictable and boring. The risk Zoe took of asking a random bartender to risk his job to serve alcohol to minors and relying only on her charm and celebrity to make it work, however, was  _ not _ predictable and boring. The anticipation of waiting to see if the bartender was going to take the bait and serve them stole Tori's attention. 

She stared at the older, tattooed man who had no doubt been working as a bartender for years. There was no way he would risk it all just for a teen star, no matter how charming Zoe happened to be.

It took about thirty seconds, but the bartender snatched up the cash Zoe had laid on the table. "Why don't you three go sit at one of those tables over there? Order some poutine or something and we'll see if a waitress maybe accidentally serves you drinks meant for someone else." 

Tori had to stop herself from reaching over and picking up Tristan's jaw off the ground. He was completely shocked and totally  _ not _ acting cool about this whole thing. Zoe's attempts to impress him were about to catapult him right to eating out of the palm of her hand. If Zoe was pulling out all these stops on day one, Tori could only guess what sorts of things would go down in Paris. By the end of the summer Tristan would probably forget Tori ever existed.

The three teens approached an empty table and sat down. A waitress came over immediately and asked what they wanted to order. "Can we get some poutine?" Tori asked, fulfilling what the bartender had mentioned.

"You're not actually gonna eat poutine though, are you?" Zoe inserted herself before the waitress had a chance to put pen to paper and write down the order. 

"Why not?" Tori questioned back. There were times when Tori got intense about dieting, like right before a pageant, but even she let loose and enjoyed some fries covered in gravy and cheese every once in a while. It was a Canadian tradition that not even Tori's pageant girl body dysmorphia could fight.

Zoe shrugged, but there was clearly a layer of attitude there. "No reason. I think it's awesome that you aren't super self conscious about your weight. We can't all be a size two, right?” 

Even Tristan was able to sense this one. "Wait, stop." Tristan said, finally coming to Tori's rescue. "Tori is  _ so _ gorg. She's honestly my diet inspo. I used to be a total chubster, but with the help of Tori's diet advice and my brother basically being a badass personal trainer, I look fabulous.” He gestured down to his now-thin body. “And I can enjoy a very  _ responsible _ portion of poutine." He looked to the waitress to confirm Tori’s order. 

Tori looked to her best friend with a smile on her face. Despite the fact that he had been a little spacey and starstruck since Zoe entered the picture, Tristan was still Tristan. He was still the fiercely loyal best friend Tori had always known and loved and trusted. For a moment, Tori let her guard down. Maybe he could hold his own in Paris after all. 

The waitress nodded and disappeared. Before the conversation could continue, Imogen approached the table along with Adam and Becky.

"Mind if we sit?" Adam asked, and Tori nodded before Zoe had a chance to open her mouth. 

The three teens sat down at the table, making it feel incredibly crowded. Usually Tori wouldn't be into this many people sitting in such a tight vicinity, but she didn't want to ditch Imogen again, so her claustrophobia was just going to have to stay under the surface for now.

"Zoe, this is Adam Torres, Imogen Moreno and…" Tori paused for a moment. She still felt conflicted about letting Becky into her life. She couldn't be rude, though, so she had to introduce Becky too. "Becky Baker," Tori noticed that along with Drew and Dallas, Maya was missing. Was she seriously so mad at Tori and Tristan that she had gone home? "Hey, where’s Maya?"

Imogen cut in before anyone else could speak. "That's why we came right over here. Maya wasn't let in, they thought she was underage. Drew and Dallas are with her right now trying to figure out if there's a way to sneak her in. I would've gone with her, but they insisted. Plus I'm really trying to get to know my new gal pal,  _ Becky _ !” Imogen made eye contact with Tori and widened her eyes in the least subtle way, then winked. Again,  _ not subtle at all _ . 

If Becky weren't completely sucked into Adam's world, laying her head on his shoulder and completely overdoing it in an attempt to mark her territory and ward off Imogen and any other possible unwelcome visitors, she'd probably notice. "Is there really  _ nothing _ you can do to help Maya get in?" Tristan directed a question toward Zoe.

"Not really. I'm already risking a lot to get us those drinks,” Zoe said, quieting her voice when talking about the alcohol that Tori had forgotten was probably on the way. "I can't draw attention to us by trying to sneak an underage girl in. Security would be all over us. Maybe your friend should've worn something a little  _ sexier _ ."

Tori looked around the table to see how people were reacting to the way Zoe was acting, but everyone else was sort of in their own universe. 

Imogen had her eyes glued to Adam with jealousy brewing in her heart. Adam was glancing between Becky and Imogen, clearly understanding that there was tension between the two girls and probably conflicted as hell as to how to handle the possible love triangle. Becky was focusing all of her attention to kissing Adam's jaw and neck, which honestly seemed a little bit out of character for the generally godly girl. She must have really felt threatened by Imogen Moreno if she was going against her prim and proper uptight persona to make sure Adam stayed interested.

"I'm gonna go find Maya..." Tori said. She trusted that Drew and Dallas had things under control, but she had a valid excuse to exit the uncomfortable situation before her, and she was gonna take it. "I'll be back."

She got up from the table and stepped away. If Maya was refused entry, that meant she had to be somewhere outside around the building. Tori pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent a quick text to Maya before she left the venue. 'Coming to find u, where are u?' she typed, then shoved her phone back into her pocket and headed for the door.

Tori stepped outside and was nearly choked by the scent of cigarette and marijuana smoke wafting into her face. She wandered the perimeter of the building nervously. 

Tori almost never went anywhere alone. It felt really strange to be walking around unaccompanied, especially since it was getting dark and the neighborhood surrounding the venue wasn't exactly the nicest. 

" _ Maya _ ?" She called out nervously, hoping the blonde girl would just pop up and end the spiral of anxiety that was burrowing itself deeper into her chest every second she walked around alone. The world was scary. She felt like she was never going to feel safe wandering it alone. " _ Drew? Dallas _ ?"

"Tori?” A familiar voice called out across the scattered crowd. "Over here!" It was Drew Torres. As Tori walked toward him, his face twisted a little bit, looking more unsure as she approached. "It's... Tori, right?"

Tori nodded, confirming her identity without words. She and Drew had never had much interaction, so it was pretty fair that he didn't have her existence committed to memory. She hoped that would change this summer. A friendship with the school president could be totally beneficial, especially if she wanted to rule the school with Tristan during their tenth grade year.

"Where's Maya?" Tori asked.

Drew and Dallas were just leaning up against a grimy, graffiti covered wall. Imogen had said that the two guys had stayed outside to try to find a way to get Maya in, but the blonde girl was nowhere to be found.

"She's talking to this guy that she saw at the school earlier. He was saying he could get her in. We're just waiting on confirmation that she's safe before we head into the concert…” Drew responded. 

“Which will probably be over by the time this chick stops talking." Dallas added. .

"Chill, bro." Drew said to Dallas, then looked over to Tori apologetically. "Sorry about his crappy attitude. I promised him nachos, and…" Drew paused, holding a finger to his mouth and pretending like he was sharing a secret with Tori. "He kinda turns into the Incredible Hulk when he's feeling hangry."

Tori raised an eyebrow. "Um, where's Maya?" She asked. As much as she wanted to kiss up to Drew and Dallas and win them over with her pageant girl charm, the schmoozing would have to take place after she found her friend.

"Over there." Dallas and Drew answered simultaneously, then high-fived and the synchronicity. They pointed toward a darker corner of the alley, which could not seem less sketchy or more unsafe. They were just letting Maya hang out in a dark alley with some guy she saw at the school? Who was this guy? Tori immediately headed in the direction that Dallas and Drew pointed.

"Maya? You alive back here?" She called out, her hands beginning to slightly shake. The alley wasn't as creepy as it looked from afar, but the whole situation was still giving her heartburn. "Maya?" 

Tori approached, opened her mouth to call again, but then immediately saw the blonde girl she was seeking flirting with a tall, insanely cute guy.  _ Of course _ Maya digs her claws into the first new cutie that floats in. Now that Tori knew Maya was safe, she felt alright holding a little resentment.

Maya looked over at Tori and widened her eyes, clearly not expecting the interruption in the conversation. "Hey! I thought you and Tris ditched me…" 

"Never! I was just… keeping an eye on Zoe,” She admitted. Tori had noticed that something was off in Maya's attitude when Zoe was around, so maybe Maya had something to contribute to the conspiracy theory that had been baking in Tori's head. "I thought Imogen would’veyour back."

Maya hopped off down off of the ledge she was sitting on and approached Tori. "Yeah… She's a bit obsessed about Adam and Becky. She offered to help me out, but I could tell she would rather be ogling Adam and throwing eye darts at Becky, so...”

Tori giggled at Maya's absolutely truthful observation of the whole situation between Imogen and Adam. She knew that experiencing that drama unfold all summer would probably be better than any recent season of West Drive. Someone was going to get their heart broken, Tori knew it. And as sadistic as it was, she sort of wanted a front row seat for the action.

"So what's going down here?" Tori asked.

"The bouncer wouldn't let me in. He said I look underage. The minimum at this venue is  _ thirteen _ . Do I seriously look less than thirteen?” Maya asked. “I mean, Mo once said I looked  _ ten… _ Is it really that bad?" 

Tori grimaced a bit. Maya  _ did _ look young for her age. She was fourteen, but if she wanted to order off a kid's menu at a restaurant no waiter would blink an eye. 

Before Tori responded she observed Maya's cherubic face. There was honestly nothing wrong with Maya looking a little younger. In fact, all of the pageant coaches Tori had ever met always bowed down to the girls who had more youthful features like Maya. But it was an insecurity for Maya. Tori thought she had two options: tell Maya the truth, that she does look youthful, but that she should enjoy it or lie and say that she totally looks mature and try to boost her ego?

"You just need a more mature look to get in tonight,” Tori said, finding something perfectly in the middle. "What's your name?" Tori addressed the boy who sat behind Maya for the first time. He had a joint between his fingers, pressing it to his lips every minute or so and taking long drags. 

Every girl couldn’t help but swoon for a bad boy, and Tori wasn't excluded from that. She tried to keep her head on straight, though. This wasn't the time to flirt with the dangerous boy with gorgeous eyes and a goofy smile...

"Miles,” The boy introduced himself. He took one more long drag off of the joint that was practically burning his finger tips at this point before throwing the spent joint on the ground and pressing his shoes into it as he stood up. He was wearing ridiculously expensive designer shoes, which only made Tori more and more intrigued. Again, though, she told herself that this wasn't the time. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. And  _ you are _ ?"

Maya cut in before Tori had a chance to introduce herself. "She's Tori,” she quickly said. “What do you mean when you say a more mature look?" Maya was clearly a bit desperate to get into the concert. "What should I do? Show cleavage? I don't really...have cleavage..." Maya spoke self consciously, embarrassed as she openly spoke about her chest in front of a boy she barely knew.

Tori looked to Miles, giving him a devious smile. His eyes sort of clicked with hers in a way she wasn't expecting. He almost seemed  _ familiar _ . 

As their eyes locked in, they both spoke almost simultaneously. "Makeover?" They both said, their words stumbling onto one another in a messy way. 

"Now?" Maya said, but Tori had already begun searching her purse for her makeup bag. "Alright, I just…" Maya started speaking, but Tori and Miles had begun directing her toward a spot where she could sit that had a bit of decent light.

"You know, I totally support a bad girl makeover," Miles spoke as Tori brought out her black eyeliner and began work on darkening around Maya's eyes. "But I could also just get us backstage. No bouncers there to fret about." Tori paused after only applying makeup to one of Maya's eyes, making her look a bit like an unbalanced raccoon.

"You could do  _ what _ ?" Tori said, nearly feeling her ears turn like a cartoon character towards Miles, giving him his full attention. "You know the band?"

Tori attempted to go back to Maya's makeover, but she was definitely distracted. The second eye that she was applying makeup to was definitely not turning out as well. She smudged the makeup a bit, making it look like it was intentionally a bit messy. Maybe Maya could pull off grunge...

"I have my ways of getting backstage. Do you guys want to? After you finish this, obviously." Miles referenced Maya's lopsided makeup job. 

The charming grin that took over Miles's face was completely melting Tori. She kept trying to convince herself that this was  _ not _ the time for flirting, but her heart just wasn't listening. In front of her was an insanely cute guy who seemed funny, charming, approachable, a little bad…  _ And _ he was offering her the chance of a lifetime to go backstage at a show. Maybe he was bad news. Tori always saw the good in Zig and he definitely wasn't what he seemed. She could feel herself talking herself out of this amazing spontaneous opportunity that was presented to her. So instead of thinking more, she just spoke.

"Let's do it." Tori decided.

"Just wait here." Miles reassured. "I'll handle this."

And with that, he vanished into the shadows of the alley to kick off whatever scheme he had cooked up. There were parts of Tori that were definitely suspicious of his antics, but the sheer mystery that surrounded this boy was magnetizing her and she just couldn't convince herself to resist.

Tori spoke next, unable to resist breaking the silence as soon as Miles was out of earshot. 

"How do you know this guy?" Tori started. "Like, what's his deal?" She asked, then quickly felt herself scrambling to retract the statement, not wanting to let on to Maya that she had even an inkling of a crush on Miles, especially when she didn't know enough about him to even decide how she felt past basic attraction. Their friendship had almost been destroyed by stupid boy drama before, and even though the chances that Maya could ever come close to Tristan in terms of Tori's best friends were slim to none, it was important for Tori to have a female friend that she could trust. She wasn't about to jeopardize anything over a spark she felt with some joint-smoking rich dude she barely knew, even  _ if _ he had eyes that managed to sparkle in a dimly lit alley. "I just wanna make sure we're safe, you know? Before we just go off with him."

Maya's face, slightly less cherubic due to the smudged black makeup that now occupied her upper and lower eyelids, twisted slightly. "You totally like him,” she said.

There was nothing in Maya's tone of voice that let on how the blonde girl  _ felt _ about the concept of Tori being  _ 'into' _ Miles. That was one facet of Maya's personality that was difficult for Tori to understand. Tristan always wore his emotions on his sleeve, reacting dramatically and speaking his mind as soon as something bothered him. Maya wasn't that type. Maya would confront a situation if need-be, but Tori had a feeling there were a  _ lot _ of complicated feelings bottled up inside that tiny blonde body.

"That's crazy, Maya. You're…" Tori trailed off, not wanting to call Maya crazy after the whole Cam situation. "You're totally wrong. I don't even know him. Plus I'm not looking to lower myself down to the level of another possible jerk,” Tori tried her best to reassure Maya. "Remember how it went with my  _ ex _ ."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed." Maya mumbled. 

It seemed like Tori's blonde counterpart wanted to say more but decidedly didn't. Instead, Maya's hands reached into her pocket to pull her phone out. "It's already 10. I hope Miles comes back soon. I have a curfew. Stupid bouncer thinking I'm underage…"

A familiar voice intruded, startling the two teen girls. "Are you guys alive back there?" Drew shouted. Tori and Maya had completely forgotten that they had left Drew and Dallas waiting while they talked to Miles. 

Drew almost jumped back when he noticed Maya's new makeup job. "Woah, what happened to your face?" He asked, then quickly corrected. "I mean… You look  _ nice _ , just… very different."

"We got caught up talking to this guy who's gonna help us get backstage." Maya explained. "Tori helped me look more…mature. Do I look _that_ dumb?"

Tori observed the slightly streaky dark makeup that surrounded Maya's blue eyes. It was a little harsh, but Tori didn't think the application was as bad as everyone was making it out to be. As Drew said, the makeup was just  _ different.  _

“You look fine,” Tori assured Maya sharply and quickly, dismissing the concerns brought up so the conversation could continue.

Miles materialized behind Maya and Tori suddenly, wrapping his arms around the girls and placing himself in the middle. "You guys ready to go?" He asked, then looked up to the older boys now standing in front of him. 

Compared to Dallas and Drew, Miles definitely looked a bit scrawny and unassuming. Suddenly, about a quarter of of his charm and mystique dissipated. He was still definitely cute, but next to the older, more distinguished boys… it was definitely more obvious that Miles was just as much a kid as Tori or Maya, no matter how many joints he smoked or how many concerts he could potentially sneak into.

"Wait, what is this guy doing? And who  _ is _ this guy?" Dallas interjected, appearing from behind Drew. "This sounds sketchy. Who are you?" He addressed Miles directly.

"We're big girls, we've got it. You guys can go inside now,” Tori tried to reassure. She knew that Dallas was right, but every minute they spent arguing with Drew and Dallas was another minute that Tristan was being schmoozed to hell and back by Zoe Rivas. By the time Tori got back, Tristan would probably have already promised his first born to Zoe. 

Drew's hand reached out as Tori turned away. “We're supposed to protect you and Maya. We don't know this kid. You don't know this kid. It sounds like trouble. Let's go."

"Since when are you our surrogate dads?" Maya shot back. Tori loved Maya's sassy side. "We're fourteen, not eight. We can make our own decisions on where we're going and who we want to go with." 

Despite Maya's stern temperament, the senior boys refused to back down or walk away. 

Usually Tori would appreciate the extra protection, but now that Tori had gotten herself tangled up in the web of Maya and Miles, this seemed like the only way to get back to Tristan.

"That's cute, but you're not going with this sketchball. Especially not if the weed I'm smelling right now is coming from him, which I'm assuming it is,” Dallas responded, wafting the air toward his nose dramatically. "Sorry girls. Either you find a way to get in  _ legally _ , or you don't get into the concert at all and we go get burgers instead."

"You're so hot when you're in dad mode..." Drew teased, pulling his friend in and attempting to place a kiss on his forehead. 

Dallas denied the playful advance. 

"Burgers sound so good right now." Drew said with a genuine smile taking over his features. "Can we get burgers no matter what?"

Possibly inspired by Miles, a devious plan was hatched in Tori's brain. "Fine," she said. "We give up. Let's go get burgers."

Taken aback by the statement and clearly not clued into Tori's scheme, Maya began to protest. "Wait, no! Are you kidding me? After all this time we spent? We're so close! We can't give up, Tor!" Tori shoved her friend nonchalantly, trying to non-verbally give the girl a cue to just wait a moment. "I came with Zoe and Tristan and I'm sure they won't want to leave early, so… can you guys just give us a ride?" Tori asked sweetly.

"Sure," Drew replied, playing perfectly into Tori's hand. His reputation as not the sharpest tool in the shed  _ definitely _ worked in Tori's favor in this moment.

"Great. Where'd you park?" Tori asked.

"Just a few blocks down that way." Dallas replied, his tone still not quite as trusting as Drew's. "Your friend can come too if he wants. None of that weed in my car, though. I don't want my son smelling that when I pick him up this weekend."

Miles, still clearly confused what was happening in front of his eyes, shook his head. "Oh, nah. I'm good. I guess I'll just find someone to chill with inside." 

Even though Tori knew that he wasn't really going to be hanging out with whatever gold-digging concert bimbos were inside, the fact that Miles seemed so quick to accept replacing Tori and Maya as his companions for the night stung.

"Let's go, then?" Drew proposed. 

Maya looked to Tori with helpless eyes. She still had no idea what was going on. She would understand soon enough, though. 

Tori reached down, feigning pain in her feet. "These shoes are  _ not _ fit for walking a few blocks. Could you guys go get the car and pick us up in front of the venue?"

Drew and Dallas nodded in tandem, Drew's expression conveying much more trust than Dallas's. They disappeared, exiting the alley. 

Before they could even exit earshot, Maya began prodding Tori for answers. "What is this? I thought we were going to sneak in! Miles already pulled the strings and everything! I don't want burgers!" Maya exclaimed. Tori placed her hand over her friend's mouth, silencing the continuous noise of Maya's tantrum.

"Don't worry, we're still going,” Tori said, removing her hand from Maya's mouth and placing it on Miles's shoulder with a confidence she had only held before in front of a crowd at a pageant. "Ready to go in?" She asked, flashing her most devious smile and receiving a matching one in return from the boy in front of her.

"So when Drew and Dallas pull up to the alley, which they should be doing any moment now..." Maya rambled nervously, "What are they gonna do? What are  _ we _ gonna do? They're gonna think we got kidnapped or something!"

Tori quickly pulled her phone out and typed a FaceRange message to Drew, offering her services at the Degrassi Day Camp for the summer if he and Dallas just dropped the whole thing and let them have fun. 

"I had no idea you were such a badass Tor,” Maya said. "And you're sure this is gonna work...?" Her tone still held an inkling of hesitance.

"It'll work," Tori reassured Maya and herself. "Now leave your anxiety in this alleyway. Let's go!”


End file.
